Desktop Publishing 9-12

COMIC STRIP EXAMPLES

Desktop Publishing 9-12

COMIC STRIP EXAMPLES

DESIGN YOUR OWN COMIC STRIP!#1: Find Inspiration for Your ComicThe first step is to choose an overall theme for your comic. Who are the characters? What is the setting?There are a couple of different ways to find inspiration:

First, find something you are passionate about.Do you love superheroes? Are you into anime or sports or monster trucks? Choose a subject or character that excites you and create a comic about that.

Second, you could also borrow the style of an existing work.That’s okay!

Nearly every cartoonist has a story about their first comic being a knock-off of something that inspired them.

Do some research online to get ideas. Here are a few examples:

In Zorphbert and Fred, two aliens disguise themselves as dogs to live among humans. This comic is perfect for animal or alien lovers!

Z&F brings classic cartoon silliness.

Desktop Publishing 9-12

COMIC STRIP EXAMPLES

JL8 is the story of Superman, Batman and their friends as children attending elementary school. JL8 is my favorite choice for little superhero fans!

Sheldon is a family tale of 10-year-old billionaire Sheldon who lives with his grandfather and a talking duck. Sheldon is another great choice for animal lovers. It has lots of jokes hidden inside for grownups!

Whether inspired by their reading or their own lives, the important thing is to choose characters and a topic that interest you !!!

#2: Sketch the CharactersNow that you know what you want your comic to be about, it’s time to sketch what the characters will look like, in both words and drawings.Have the kids jot down notes about the characters they’ve imagined. One may be a grumpy old man, another may be a happy-go-lucky elf.

Desktop Publishing 9-12

COMIC STRIP EXAMPLES

Isabel works out how these two characters’ personalities will interact.

Next, draw pictures of your characters. The key is to create characters that look nothing like one another so they’re easily distinguishable on the page.

#3: Write the StoryThink about the overall story you want to tell with your comic series. Choose a gag-a-day style.Gag-a-days are self-contained jokes that do not carry over to the next day’s or week’s strip. Vinnie the Vampire is a wonderful gag-a-day comic.

Desktop Publishing 9-12

COMIC STRIP EXAMPLES

Gag-a-day comics finish the story or joke in one day’s strip.

I recommend that you begin with gag-a-day. They’re easy and don’t require a long-winded story, just something funny!Gag-a-day Comic Format:Most gag-a-days are made up of three panels:

Introduction

Build-Up

PunchlineHere’s what my daughter, Isabel, came up with:

Panel One (Introduction): Isabel: “Hi there. This is my bearded dragon, Fluffy. But he’s not a

real dragon!”

Panel Two (Build-Up): Isabel: “Real dragons have wings!” [Behind her Fluffy has grown wings.]

Panel Three (Punchline): Isabel: “And they breathe fire.” [Fluffy is melting a chair with fiery

breath.]After you write out the story, it’s time to create the comic strip.

#4: Make the BordersFirst, create a border template so that all of your comics will be the same size and shape.

Desktop Publishing 9-12

COMIC STRIP EXAMPLES

Measure a rectangle 10″ X 5″ (25 x 12 cm).

Make a frame for your comic panel.

This is your template.

Next, it’s time to draw the borders for your comic.Place the template over a standard 8½” x 11″ (22 x 28 cm) piece of paper lengthwise and trace the inside border to create the panel.

Desktop Publishing 9-12

COMIC STRIP EXAMPLES

Trace the inside border onto a piece of paper.

#4: Do the LetteringLettering is the secret benefit to creating a comic by hand.

Now you can begin to pencil in the words. Refer to the storyline you wrote earlier.Shape the sentences so they make ellipses. You’ll draw word balloons around them later.

Desktop Publishing 9-12

COMIC STRIP EXAMPLES

Write words in ellipses so that you can make word balloons around them.

You can use any type of lettering you want, but I recommend that you write in block letters (all caps) for clarity.

Proofread your words for spelling and grammar .

#5: PencilingNow let’s see some art!

Draw the characters in pencil underneath the words they’re saying.

Anything goes in the pencil stage – have fun!

Desktop Publishing 9-12

COMIC STRIP EXAMPLES

Get crazy with the faces and expressions!!YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A GREAT ARTIST!! These are cartoons. They’re supposed to be silly! In fact, the sillier, the better!Next, draw word balloons around the letters. Be sure to include a “tail” going to the appropriate character.

Have them draw the ellipse as best they can.

With a ruler draw two vertical lines separating each panel. The lines should be quarter inch (.5 cm) apart. The space in between them is called a “gutter.”The key to every comic is clarity. If the reader can understand what’s happening, that’s a successful comic!

#6: Inking/ Digital DesignTake the border template you made in the beginning copy it into Photoshop. In this case we want a white background.Carefully fill in the border with a thin black line

Be careful to create the gutters you made between each panel.

Desktop Publishing 9-12

COMIC STRIP EXAMPLES

Gutters let each panel be a separate moment in time.

To color or not to color.I suggest that you keep the comic black and white. Or choose one colour to highlight one character. Again, simple is best.

You can tell great jokes in black and white!

#7: Publish Your ComicCreate a Digital File of Your Comic as a Jpeg so we can print out these comics and showcase them around the room!

Evaluation:

Comic Plan Drawn / 5

- Borders, gutters, characters represent descriptions

Comic Plan Description / 5

Desktop Publishing 9-12

COMIC STRIP EXAMPLES

-Storyline (makes sense), character descriptions are detailed

Digital Comic /5

- Cleanliness

-Thought bubbles

-Framing/ gutters

-Text legible and well thought out, spelling/ grammar

- Use of layers, using multiple tools